Transmission flush vs Drain and fill at 104K miles

[mlynM35]

My 2006 M35 has 104K miles. Transmission fluid has never been changed. I checked the fluid level last night and the fluid looks good. Still red, not black.

I have read in various places including this forum that a flush at this mileage is a bad idea. I have also read that the machine that does the flush just feeds the transmission new fluid and collects the old fluid as it comes out. Supposedly there is no extra pressure put on the fluid going in, and the pump in the transmission just pumps the fluid like it normally does when driving. If this is the case, and all you are doing is circulating new fluid in as old fluid goes out, why is flushing bad?

[EniGmA1987]

I had a complete flush at 105k miles, no issues. I am pretty hardcore on my engine and trans too. Now days flushing is not really bad, the new machines do a great job of not damaging things.

[loystock]

Most shops will refuse transmission flush on car with over 80K miles, unless there is a previous record of flush. This is due to liability issue. The transmission may have accumulated so much gunk that a flush can free them off and clog the oil galleries, making your transmission worse . If you can find one, good. Otherwise, you have to do multiple drain and refill. You need Nissan Matic-S (replacement for Matic-J). I do multiple drain and refill in all our cars every 2 years. You may need 12-15 quarts for 3 drain and refill, depending on how much you have drained out. Run the engine for about 100 seconds and then drain. Make sure you have the correct level before doing the drain so you know how much to refill.

You might as well drop the pan and clean the pan and magnets as well as check the filter.

[mlynM35]

Thanks for the input. I'm going to take the multiple drain and refill route to be on the safe side. The dipstick says use Matic J and the local Nissan dealer had Matic J. I bought 8 quarts to start. I am going to collect and measure what I drain so i will put back exactly what came out.

[Towncivilian]

A "flush" is not a pressurized power flush as is commonly thought. It simply uses your transmission's own pump to do a complete fluid exchange, which is obviously less wasteful than multiple drain and fills. There's nothing wrong with performing a complete fluid exchange on a high-mileage transmission; this is a myth perpetuated by owners who are experiencing issues with their poorly maintained transmission, and attempt a flush in the hopes that it'll fix the transmission. The transmission dies a week later - the fluid exchange is blamed, but the transmission was going to die regardless!

[mlynM35]

Towncivilian. That exactly what i was wondering about and stated in my original post. If it's just the transmissions own pump exhanging the fluid it should not harm anything. But as you said all kinds of info gets spread around.

A friend of mine has a quick lube business and has a Wynn machine for flushing. So I was reading Wynn's website last night and one place actually says this:

"New ATF from a conventional drain and refill service can often loosen damaging sludge and varnish deposits leading to shift problems and even transmission failure."

Which to me is also total bs. and opposite to what everyone else says.

Anyway i took what i thought was the "safe route" based on the info and had drained and refilled today. The fluid is still pretty clean, I suspect the flush would have been fine, but now that i have started down this road I will problably continue.

Now on another note....today after the drain and fill....suddenly the hydraulic pistons that hold my hood up are no longer keeping it up. They were fine last week. And i looked up the parts online and they are around $150 bucks each. I'll just have to live with that.....not like I'm under the hood a lot anyway. For 300 bucks ill stick a piece of wood under it and prop it up if i have to.

[EniGmA1987]

If the hood is not incredibly heavy and slams down the moment you let go of it then there is a 99% probability that only 1 of your hydraulic pistons is bad that holds the hood up. I had the same thing happen to me last year, just 1 needed replacing and its been good ever since. Same thing as you though, one day it is good and I am working on lighting stuff and the next day when I go to finish the lighting things the hood wont stay up.

[mlynM35]

It stays up for about one second then slowly comes down for the first 12 inches or so. After the first foot it pretty much just free falls. Last night I was double checking my transmission fluid levels and i used the putter from my golf bag to hold the hood up. Is there anwhere i get a cheap piston? I dont really care if its not an infiniti part as long as it works.

[DeanM45]

http://www.autopartsbylou.com/lift-supp ... item=60019

~$35/each. worked perfect for me.

[pedsemdoc]

<span><a class="smarterwiki-linkify" href="http://www.autopartsbylou.com/lift-supp ... </a></span>

~$35/each. worked perfect for me.

+1 on that

see: post6295164.html?hilit=hood%20struts#p6295164

I can attest to their quality too--wasn't about to pay the stealership that ridiculous amount...now you can spend your quan on some other cool stuff

[DeanM45]

<span><a class="smarterwiki-linkify" href="http://www.autopartsbylou.com/lift-supp ... </a></span>

~$35/each. worked perfect for me.

+1 on that

see: post6295164.html?hilit=hood%20struts#p6295164

I can attest to their quality too--wasn't about to pay the stealership that ridiculous amount...now you can spend your quan on some other cool stuff

GOOD THREAD! I wish I had seen it before. Thanks for all the work pedsemdoc. I don't have any problems with my trunk as yet and looking at how the supports are set up the force required to make the trunk "pop" up when released I think would make closing the trunk difficult. The deck lid itself does not weigh much at all but because of the angles there would have to be a lot of force to open it unassisted.

[mlynM35]

Thanks for the great info guys. I got online and chatted with the rep at autoparts by lou.....he was super helpful. Gonna order my lift supports tonight. And they are only $17 each...plus shipping. compared to almost 10 x that for and infiniti part.

[mlynM35]

Ok back to the transmission fluid issue. I just found this in the service manual on this site. Can someone explain this to me. This is under "Changing AT Fluid"

It says stop enginge, drain fluid, refil with same volume. Then the next sentence says....to replace, pour new fluid in as old is drained with engine runnning. So which is it, im confused. The with the engine running option sounds scary to me, but wouldn't that amount to a do it your self flush?



A/T FLUID PFP:KLE40
Changing A/T Fluid NCS001JI
1. Warm up ATF.
2. Stop engine.
3. Loosen the level gauge bolt.
4. Drain ATF from drain plug and refill with new ATF. Always refill
same volume with drained ATF.
To replace the ATF, pour in new ATF at the A/T fluid charging
pipe with the engine idling and at the same time drain the old
ATF from the radiator cooler hose return side.
When the color of the ATF coming out is about the same as
the color of the new ATF, the replacement is complete. The
amount of new ATF to use should be 30 to 50% increase of
the stipulated amount.
CAUTION:
Use only Genuine NISSAN Matic J ATF. Do not mix with other ATF.
Using ATF other than Genuine NISSAN Matic J ATF will cause deterioration in driveability and A/
T durability, and may damage the A/T, which is not covered by the warranty.
When filling ATF, take care not to scatter heat generating parts such as exhaust.
Do not reuse drain plug gasket.
5. Run engine at idle speed for 5 minutes.
6. Check A/T fluid level and condition. Refer to AT-13, "Checking A/T Fluid" . If ATF is still dirty, repeat step 2.
through 5.
7. Install the removed A/T fluid level gauge into A/T fluid charging pipe.
8. Tighten the level gauge bolt.
ATF: Genuine NISSAN Matic J ATF
Fluid capacity: 10.3 (10-7/8 US qt, 9-1/8 lmp qt)
Drain plug
: 34 N·m (3.5 kg-m, 25 ft-lb)
Level gauge bolt
: 5.1

[Towncivilian]

Following the FSM steps is for a complete fluid exchange. I would rather do a drain & fill, then start the engine with the cooler return hose disconnected and pointing in a collection jug, allowing 2 quarts to drain, stopping the engine, adding 2 quarts through the dipstick, and repeat until the entire transmission fluid capacity plus 2 quarts has been exchanged. This will prevent any possibility of running things dry.

[loystock]

If you follow the 'flush' per FSM, even with an assistant, you may have a hard time trying to match the amount of fluid drained with the amount you have to fill. Besides, it could also be very messy. I believe the flow rate is @ 4 quarts/minute so if you are going that route, make sure you have several ATF bottles ready to pour. If not you may starve the transmission.

If you are doing regular drain and refill, better change gears while engine is running (Parking Brake ON, foot on the brake pedal for safety).

Please note that some shops will charge you for a flush when in reality, they are just doing drain and refill. Make sure the shop also has BG Flush machine or similar which uses dual membrane to monitor fluid drain and provide a matching refill. Anything that uses external pressure can damage your transmission. An ATF flush is not guaranteed 100% fluid replacement since fluid may be trapped within the transmission and pan.

[mlynM35]

If you are doing regular drain and refill, better change gears while engine is running (Parking Brake ON, foot on the brake pedal for safety).

.

Loystock.....what do you mean by that? If i do a regular drain and refil isn't the enging off when im draining?

[The Bodyguard]

Did my service art 60k miles, dealership refused a flush!! Only do drain and fill!